When Middle-Class Parents Choose Urban Schools: Class, Race, and the Challenge of Equity in Public Education (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780226120218)

In recent decades a growing number of middle-class parents have considered sending their children to--and often end up becoming active in--urban public schools. Their presence can bring long-needed material resources to such schools, but, as Linn Posey-Maddox shows in this study, it can also introduce new class and race tensions, and even exacerbate inequalities. Sensitively navigating the pros and cons of middle-class transformation, When Middle-Class Parents Choose Urban Schools asks whether it is possible for our urban public schools to have both financial security and equitable diversity.

Drawing on in-depth research at an urban elementary school, Posey-Maddox examines parents' efforts to support the school through their outreach, marketing, and volunteerism. She shows that when middle-class parents engage in urban school communities, they can bring a host of positive benefits, including new educational opportunities and greater diversity. But their involvement can also unintentionally marginalize less-affluent parents and diminish low-income students' access to the improving schools. In response, Posey-Maddox argues that school reform efforts, which usually equate improvement with rising test scores and increased enrollment, need to have more equity-focused policies in place to ensure that low-income families also benefit from--and participate in--school change.


Author: Linn Posey-Maddox
ISBN-10: 022612021X
ISBN-13: 9780226120218
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Language: English
Published: 03/18/2014
Pages: 232
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.65lbs
Size: 8.96h x 6.11w x 0.59d

Review Citation(s):
Choice 12/01/2014 pg. 672